This invention relates to the field of electrical connectors, and more particularly to the field of high density connectors that are deformable and that produce a wiping action between conductors as mating occurs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,166, to Kasdagly et al., discloses a connector that deforms under the pressure of connection to provide a wiping action between its own electrical conductors and those of the two printed circuit cards that it serves to electrically connect. This wiping action and how it is created are described at column 4, lines 10-38, of the '166 patent and shown in (prior art) FIGS. 1A and 1B of the present patent application.
A limitation of connector shown in the Kasdagly '166 patent, and FIGS. 1A and 1B of this patent application, is that the downward pressure of the hard member is distributed evenly over a relatively large area of the soft member during the connection process, producing a correspondingly limited wiping force to the conductor-conductor interface.
Another limitation of the connector shown in the Kasdagly '166 patent is that it is suitable for creating a connection between two printed circuit boards, but it is not suitable for providing a connection between the runs on both sides of a flexible circuit cable and two rows of conductors on a mating surface of another substrate, i.e., a double density connection.
The use of flexible circuit cables has increased steadily in recent years, and consequently so has the need for means of connecting them to conventional electronic circuit boards.
U.S. Pat. 4,789,765, to Berg, discloses a contact device having a resiliently deformable member with a convex-concave-convex geometry on its mating surface, but with an opposite surface that is flat. This geometry prevents flat mating because of its uneven thickness.
What is desired is a deformable connector that provides a concentrated wiping action pressure as it is connected, yet forms a flat mating surface when it is fully mated, and that is also suitable for providing a double density connection between a printed circuit board and a flexible cable, as well as other applications.